Anti riot brigade clash with political prisoners of Rajaii Shahr

Prison anti riot guards attacked unit 2 of Rajaii Shahr prison on 24 January, smashed the locked door and dragged our three political prisoners; Farhad Vakili Rad, Farzad Kamangar, and Ali Heidaryan.

The prison authority's intentions to transfer Farzad Kamangar and Farhad Vakilirad to a separate unit in that prison had brought reactions amongst their inmates.

According to reports, the prisoners resisted the order, locked their door and had asked to see the prison director to discuss the matter.

Pirayesh, deputy director of the prison had met the prisoners along with the prison guard called Zabihi and the political prisoners had asserted their demand that their inmates should not be separated under any conditions.

The prisoners had resisted for 24 hours till they were violently attacked by the guards during which Farzad Kamangar and Farhad Vakili were brutally beaten up and taken to the notorious section of Rajaii Shahr.

Farzad Kamangar is a teacher from Kamyaran, suspected to be in contact with one of the Kurdish opposition parties.

In a letter which was slipped out of prison, he had clearly reported that he had been tortured and also threatened to be raped by the Intelligence Ministry agents.

Sexual abuse is a method used by Intelligence Ministry torturers to break the prisoners' resistance while in detention.

The three activist students, still in captivity in 209 notorious Evin prison, Ahmad Ghassaban , Ehsan Mansouri and Majid Tavakoli had also revealed that they had been threatened of sexual abuse. They had been accused of publishing insulting material against Islam and higher authorities of the government m but were later acquitted of the accusations.

Prior to these incidents, another prisoner Babak Dadbaksh who has recently been transferred from Evin to Rajaii Shahr prison has also been transferred to an unknown location.

Political prisoners have recently revealed that such transfers are used to break down resistant prisoners. Some prisoners in a letter have declared their lives are in danger in these locations.

Mehrdad Lorasbi and Behrouzs Javid Tehrani are known political prisoners who have spent a long period of imprisonment in Evin prison and then had been transferred to Rajaii Shahr.